There are a number of problems with currently available helmet lights. The light itself tends to be large and heavy. Also, as the light may protrude ten centimeters or more from the helmet, and does not easily disconnect, it presents a snagging hazard. For firefighters and others who rely on helmet lights, a snagging hazard could be deadly, as it could force the firefighter to either stay in place at a dangerous moment, or proceed without his helmet, a much needed item.
In addition, although helmet mounting fixtures for illumination sources (typically a flashlight) with many degrees of freedom of adjustment appear to be available, the relatively large mass of the typical flashlight requires that the joints of these fixtures be fairly stiff, to hold the flashlight in a stationary orientation during normal use. This means, however, that when it is desired to change the direction in which the light is pointing, it is necessary to exert a relatively large force on the flashlight to overcome the joint stiffness. Alternatively, the firefighter may need to loosen a fastening screw in order to adjust the angle of the light. This may be very difficult to do when wearing the heavy gloves that firefighters wear when confronting a blaze. In emergency situations every second and every motion may be important. Accordingly, if it takes longer to make an adjustment than would otherwise be necessary this could make a difference to the overall success of the emergency response operation.
Moreover, a firefighter's suite of equipment presents a heavy burden to a firefighter. Accordingly, it is undesirable to add to this burden with the currently existing systems that permit multi-axis adjustment of the illumination source, as every additional gram of mass is an added burden to the firefighter.